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Relationships

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Dating thread 53 - 2025. Cuffing Season

1000 replies

ElleintheWoods · 21/10/2025 20:20

The Rules:

  • The first rule about the dating thread is don't talk about it with people you're dating
  • Develop a thick skin
  • Do not invest emotionally too soon
  • It's all BS until it actually happens
  • Trust your gut instinct
  • People vanishing, lying & being generally weird is not your fault
  • Know your wortH
  • If it's not fun, stop
  • Loo update is mandatory
  • No dating the thread
  • Treat others as you'd like to be treated
  • Any relationship you have that could get ruined by having a conversation about your feelings, standards and/or expectations wasn't really stable enough to begin with
  • The things you choose to ignore/ tolerate now are the reasons you will break up in the future
  • OLD can get very time consuming. Keep doing other activities you enjoy

Optional: Please give your irons (potential dates you are talking to) nicknames like Mr Scottish. Initials are allowed (Mr S) when you are an item*

OP posts:
BoxOfCats · 11/11/2025 07:08

Typo! That should be “dating”…

KittyCorncrake · 11/11/2025 07:32

I think d8ing is rather a good ‘word’ 😂

NervesOfCotton · 11/11/2025 07:43

KittyCorncrake When I first started texting I'd put an 8 in the word like 'I'm w8ing to hear'
(I was so cool)Grin

TwistedWonder · 11/11/2025 08:18

Kaltenzahn · 10/11/2025 23:15

@librauk absolutely no to meeting in a dark car park! I'd be thinking he's either inviting you dogging or you'll end up in the boot of his car. Very best case scenario it's just a terrible low effort "date". Either way I'd find it a big red flag!

100% - it’s either trying to get you into the car for sex or absolutely zero effort. The only time in car dates were acceptable was during lockdown.

Im going to be honest, pretty much all of the posts on here about the men you’re all chatting to sound like more red flags than Moscow on May Day. Don't drop your bar to the floor for these men.

NervesOfCotton · 11/11/2025 08:31

I agree about the Red flags TwistedWonder.

Although, I have met a date in a car park before (waiting on a bench by the side of it during the day, & then we went off somewhere else)

Has anybody watched Car Share? The dogging comment reminds me of that episodeGrin

Ceci693 · 11/11/2025 09:29

@BoxOfCatsyeh I know it is a bit worrying about Mr Russian love bombing. I think it’s a little bit of the cultural difference but will decide on Friday when I see him. We did video call - I don’t like the video calls but have to be done I guess 🤣

YRGAM · 11/11/2025 09:48

Apologies for randomly dipping into this thread when I'm not dating, but @Ceci693 it's hard to overstate just how different Russia and Russians can be culturally from the UK if you're not used to it.

I'm a Brit who lived and worked in Russia for a while and the cultures are so much more different than you'd expect given we are both European nations. Obviously all this is a generalisation but especially in the romantic sphere Russian men will be incredibly charming, generous and loving, particularly in the early stages. But the flip side of that is that it often comes with a sense of 'ownership' in men's mentalities, as well as the 'traditional' element working both ways in the sense that you'll be expected to always look good and do all the housework/childcare etc if it gets to that stage. This first bit might explain why he's coming on a bit stronger than you're used to.

I'm not trying to put you off the guy at all, but just to bear in mind that the cultural difference can be truly chasmic when you first encounter it!

Ceci693 · 11/11/2025 10:34

@YRGAMthanks that’s very interesting. I want to relax into his charm and not worry about love bombing. I think I can as I’m not looking for a husband and my kids are grown so I can enjoy the compliments and charm 🤣🤣

Kaltenzahn · 11/11/2025 11:16

@Ceci693 good luck for the date on Friday! It's good you're not going to fall for the love bombing. I'd be a bit wary of the intensity (love bombing, calling you his girlfriend already) as I've previously seen that type turn towards being possessive/controlling. But I hope he's just genuinely lovely and romantic!

Kaltenzahn · 11/11/2025 11:43

Mr Engineer asked me out this weekend, which is lovely, but he seems to be pushing to come to my local area. I suggested meeting half way but he keeps suggesting we meet closer to me. He could just be trying to be nice, or he could be trying to set it up for a convenient shag. I've pushed back to meet somewhere neutral so will see what he says.

ElleintheWoods · 11/11/2025 13:05

@Ceci693 Don’t discuss your dating life with the guys you’re chatting to with the view to date. It doesn’t bring anything good to the dynamic. How would you feel if they started discussing other women they’re talking to and may be seeing?

Also, you really don’t own a man you’re texting with and haven’t even met any loyalty. It really isn’t ‘cheating’ unless you’ve met, said you both want something, kissed, had sex etc. Someone who hasn’t even met you isn’t in a position to dictate to you. A man may do something like this as a test in case they’re looking for someone they can manipulate etc.

The guy I’m currently dating is quite a player and he’s open with me that he has done it in the past and that men do this regularly. Eg send a girl a message no girl with a sound mind would reply to, or suggest something ridiculous like going to bed on first date, and if they reply, he knows he can do/ get pretty much whatever he wants.

I’ve recently realised that early dating is much more about boundary and character testing for men than I ever realised. It’s pretty eye opening. I can now see why some of my earlier relationships have been so frustrating for me in terms of men’s behaviour - cos I’ve allowed them to get away with murder

OP posts:
Ceci693 · 11/11/2025 18:36

@ElleintheWoodsi know what you’re saying about not talking to guys about other guys but what happened with big dog was we were talking for about 3 weeks and a date never happened and in the end I told him I just didn’t feel a spark cos I didn’t but I liked chatting to him and I said look we could be friends if you like but I understand if you don’t want to. And he said yeh he felt the same but he wanted to be friends: so the dynamic changed between us. He tells me about his matches and he’s interested in what I’m doing lol. But recently he has become very attentive - he hasn’t said anything tho- except would I like a shag 🤣🙈and then last nite he said meet me and not the Russian . But I’m wary of him. If I did sleep with him I think I could easily develop feelings which would probably be a disaster. So he is a bit different. I really like him though. A lot more now than when we were “dating” - not that we ever went on a date 🤣

justsurvivingnotthriving · 11/11/2025 20:11

Really interesting insight there from your Mr Player guy… I think it’s definitely true that men are testing their boundaries in the early stages.

I had a prime example at the weekend, have been chatting to someone I matched with on OLD a while back, but then we stopped (mutually, no ghosting on either side) a few months back.

Anyone texting restarted last week and we made arrangements to meet last weekend. However I have had a crappy time lately so I asked if we could postpone the date to this week. (TBH wasn’t sure if I was that bothered anyway!). He was fine and we agreed to meet this week.

Monday morning he messages me and this is how it went

Him: Hey Just. I ended up heading into (another town) last night.
I want to be completely open with you, it was a date. I can totally imagine that might piss you off. Not sure if it means much but it was very much a last min impromptu thing.
Obviously changes things with us.
What would you like me to do? Really sorry if this is upsetting / frustrating.

Me: Morning, Thanks for being upfront, I really do appreciate that. Honestly no hard feelings at all, we hadn’t met yet and you’re free to follow whatever feels right.
I genuinely wish you well, and no awkwardness from my side. 😊
(I genuinely wasn’t too fussed, we hadn’t met so I had no bother either way…)

Him: I'm so glad to hear that 😊 thank you for understanding 🙏🏽
If you don't mind, I'll keep your number. Who knows maybe in the future we might manage to meet face to face.

(Me, busy doing school run and getting ready for work, so don’t reply for a while)

He then messages again: Also, have absolutely no wish to completely cut ties, I have really enjoyed getting to know you and you seem genuinely lovely, kind and funny.

Me: Thank you, that’s really kind. I’ve enjoyed chatting too. I’m happy to leave things here for now, but wishing you all the best. 🫶🏻

Now, maybe he was being genuine. But I am not settling for anyone’s back up plan if his other dates don’t work out. Or maybe he was testing me to see how I’d react to him going on another date after I cancelled him. I doubt I’ll ever know, but for sure I believe he was testing my boundaries.

ElleintheWoods · 11/11/2025 20:42

@justsurvivingnotthriving Hmmm interesting from that guy. I wonder why he saw the need to tell you it was a date? You’d have never found out. What do you think he wanted to achieve with that? Do you think he wanted to show ‘hey I’m in demand’? Or does he genuinely have the mentality of ‘I can’t be going on dates with multiple women.

@Ceci693 Sorry if I was being harsh before. Completely get it if you’re ‘friends’, I chat to my male friends about dating for sure. Only ones I wouldn’t date under any circumstances though.

I’d just say maybe respond differently if he wants you to give something up. For example ‘hmmm you had your chance and did you take me out? No… So I believe it when I see it 😉’ or ‘8pm, Red Lion, I’ll be the hot one at the bar’

In a playful and fun way, you can call them out on being passive. It tends to work when I do that.

OP posts:
justsurvivingnotthriving · 11/11/2025 20:46

I wondered the same @ElleintheWoods- we hadn’t made firm date plans (we both agreed to check our work diaries on Monday) for the date this week… so he could have easily just said he was super busy this week and dwindled away.

Similarly, at this stage, I’d expect we may both be dating or at least talking to other people, so him sharing it seemed a bit strange… or maybe I’m just too accustomed to men who hide things?! 😂😂

He did seem to have a bit of arrogance when we spoke, good job and clearly good money- so he would be a catch for many women, maybe he thought I needed reminding of that 😂.

ElleintheWoods · 11/11/2025 21:11

Hmmmm. Mr RedFlagParade 🚩

So as I mentioned, he has told me all his stories about his womanising ways, what he looks for in a woman and what puts him off, the little tests he does… For example, getting hot and heavy on a girl quickly and seeing how she reacts. I’m quite pleased now that I enforced my boundaries with him early on, eg not picking up the phone when busy, not cancelling plans to see him etc. We seem to be finding each other’s rhythm and respecting it, there’s give and take.

One biiiiig problem. I love his personality. He’s really deep and intellectual. We have a shared niche interest (art) and talking to him is like talking to the most interesting person in the world, we like so much of the same work, it’s like talking to a mirror sometimes, but one that has its own mind, too.

It’s just casual by design but I’m worried it could go further and I’ll end up ‘dating potential’ again. Meaning, dating somebody who early on shows me who he really is, but I’ll end up being sure that next to me he’ll be something much greater, suddenly develops a work ethic etc.

It’s just… The way we both are when together, we’re both 8ft tall and coming up with amazing ideas and concepts, it’s hot 🔥 and I can’t deny, a little addictive. I wouldn’t find it hard to be around him most of the time, it’s intense, but I also feel relaxed, safe, and walls increasingly down. I’m guessing he feels the same but I’m not 100% sure, maybe he’s like that with all the women/ people. He’s open and approachable so maybe I’m not special at all. I hate finding myself thinking that I wish he thought I was special, especially given the nickname I’ve given him

OP posts:
Kaltenzahn · 12/11/2025 13:35

@ElleintheWoods are you not turned off by his overt contempt for (other) women? 😂

ElleintheWoods · 12/11/2025 14:15

Kaltenzahn · 12/11/2025 13:35

@ElleintheWoods are you not turned off by his overt contempt for (other) women? 😂

I’d say it’s more complicated than that. He doesn’t hate women. In fact he does some volunteering where he empowers women and he’s very passionate about doing a good job at it, the service users and their personalities etc. He also has good female friends (in relationships) that he helps out and socialises with. In fact, the first night I met him, an unassuming looking girl came over and said ‘hey, just to let you know, he’s a really good guy’. At the time I was thinking ‘yeah right, he’s a player’ but she may have had a point.

I find that in general online discourse these days it seems okay to despise men. There’s so much generalisation of ‘men would sleep with you given half a chance’, ‘men are violent’, ‘men are sexual harassers’, ‘chivalry is dead’ etc. And on the flip side there’s ’women just want money and be provided for’, ‘modern women are not worth the effort’ etc. A lot of gender based hate and fear is stoked.

We’ve discussed it together and we think it’s very toxic, but it’s also hard to completely switch off from, as many people are wired into it now.

Actually I’d say both me and him have had a similar experience, and maybe we treat members of the opposite sex similarly.

To put it bluntly, we’re both good-looking people, him probably more than me. But we’ve also both had our lows and challenges, and know that superficial people don’t stick around for that.

I’m quite skeptical of any man that approaches me and their reasons. I dislike superficial men that want someone like me for status, or sexual gratification. Therefore I don’t let them closer and may toy them around a little bit until I am convinced that they’re actually around me for the right reasons. I also get a lot of ethnicity-based/ fetish attention.

He’s had the same as a man, women approaching him often because he’s young, fit, and presumably well off. Ethnicity-based fetish attention, too.

You kind of need to weed out people who are around you for the wrong reasons. Eg women that just want you for one night and don’t see the real person behind the facade. Or women that want to be a WAG. Unfortunately it’s not rare, you attract a lot of transactional women in that position. We’re both at an age where we are starting to get on a bit, losing our looks, wanting to stay in more than going out, and it’s important to be with ‘a real one’. The guy/ girl that wants you for a bit of instant gratification isn’t going to be there when you’re an old lady/ a man that barely walks.

In terms of ‘tests’, on our first date, he made super low effort in terms of spending any money. I moaned about it on here but I enjoyed his company, regardless of the ‘no spend, no plan’ situation.

I think we get on because initially we suspected the worst in each other. And slowly we’re both starting to see that under the superficial camouflage there’s actually a really lovely person.

I’ve not really had this experience before with someone like that, as I’ve stayed away from hot young high status man like the plague, knowing how easily they can discard women.

So starting to like him a bit and missing him feels scary.

Hope some of this makes sense.

OP posts:
justsurvivingnotthriving · 12/11/2025 18:34

Soooo hard @ElleintheWoodsisnt it?! When you meet someone who ticks all the boxes, and yet you know there’s a real potential for them to f*ck you over. It seems you have your wits about you with him though which is great, keep that. Like you I am a giant, and find it hard to meet men who meet my height standards. Not to sound conceited because I see myself first thing in the morning, but I do attract men easily, but I also tire of them easily too. Conversation is a huge turn on for me and meeting someone who rocks my world physically and mentally… is extremely rare.

In your situation, I’d keep asking myself “do I feel safe here right now?” In that… if he dropped all contact tomorrow, would you be ok? Does he have the potential to break your spirit if he does a u-turn?

However, I have never been able to settle for mediocre, and have chased the highs of the spark… so I’m not one to speak on it! No matter what, we will be here to cheer you on, or pick you up, however this goes. 🩷

ElleintheWoods · 12/11/2025 20:44

@justsurvivingnotthriving Well... He doesn't tick all the boxes, that's the thing. He's in his comfort zone, meaning he effectively works 10 hours a week. He's bored and calls me a lot at random times as he has so much time in his hands. I think he could have a really rewarding second career for the next 30-40 years. But if you like someone, you think they're amazing, and you may not see that actually, they quit everything at the first sign of struggle, or are unwilling to roll their sleeves up for something less glamourous.

There's also things like him having slept around and partied so much, which is not a lifestyle I've ever liked or wanted. But also some conservative views/ toxic masculinity, and most importantly, he wants a family very soon and I don't. So I should walk away as he is very much Mr RightNow, right?

Thanks for the check-in question, good thought. Right now, if he broke contact, I'd be fine. But I do miss him when he isn't blowing up my phone. So do I need to pre-emptively cut him off? Thing is, I love talking to him. We could easily have a completely non-sexual 2-hour conversation.

You sound like me, rarely properly connecting with someone in all the ways and sticking it out. When was the last time you mutually liked someone to a high degree? How's the spark chasing currently going? Is there anything that you look for from the outset?

OP posts:
Ceci693 · 12/11/2025 22:11

This is an interesting guy @ElleintheWoodsand an interesting connection. I guess enjoy it in the moment as the future seems fraught with obstacles 🙈

im not sure whether to wear jeans for the first date with Mr Russian or a skirt - wot do you think

ElleintheWoods · 12/11/2025 23:45

@Ceci693 Which do you feel more comfortable and confident in? The sort of feeling where you look in the mirror and go ‘well hello gorgeous’ but also doesn’t feel uncomfortable being out and about?

OP posts:
BoxOfCats · 13/11/2025 08:44

@Ceci693 Yes, go with what you’re comfortable in. If in doubt, err on the side of casual.

PinkNeonSign · 13/11/2025 09:37

@Ceci693 I do think you have to feel comfortable, but then I find myself wearing different things to go out with different blokes which is probably totally wrong! Like if they’re trendy, I’ll go more trendy, if they’re flamboyant, I’ll wear something leopard print, if they’re a bit older, I’ll go more classic.

Having said that, I’m meeting someone tonight for a thing that’s in outside and whatever his style, I think I’ll be in my cagoule! x

NowStartingOver · 13/11/2025 10:15

Argh, OLD seems to have developed this new irritating trend where people will unmatch within a couple hours if you haven't messaged. The apps have a standard 24-48 hr timeout any way, so why bother unmatching because someone didn't message within 120 minutes?

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